A.M. Vitals: A Genetic Test Pegging the Odds of Living Past 100

By Katherine Hobson

The Right Stuff: Would you take a test that might tell you if you’ve got the genetic stuff to live to a really ripe old age? A team of Boston University scientists has identified a set of 150 genetic markers that they say let them predict exceptional longevity — as in, 100-plus years — with 77% accuracy, the WSJ reports. The test kit researchers are planning to release this summer will be free, but the full-genome analysis required to perform the test must be obtained separately and costs thousands of dollars.

Mandate Fight: The U.S. Justice Department and Commonwealth of Virginia met in court yesterday in a case challenging the constitutionality of the individual mandate to purchase insurance that is part of the health-overhaul bill, the New York Times reports. Virginia and 20 other states want the legislation invalidated and other suits are pending. The hearing yesterday dealt with whether Virginia has legal standing to pursue its case, and if the judge rules in the state’s favor, he can move on to the central issue of whether the individual mandate extends federal power too broadly, the paper says.

Astra Faces Fine: A European Union court ruled that AstraZeneca’s attempts to protect the patent on its drug Losec and prevent generic versions of the heartburn medication from hitting the market amounted to anticompetitive practices, the WSJ reports. The ruling reaffirmed a 2005 European Commission decision; the E.U. court also levied a fine of about $64.2 million on the drug maker. The court said AstraZeneca tried to dodge generic competition and misled authorities in some European countries in order to qualify for a certain patent extension on the drug, which is sold in the U.S. as Prilosec. An AstraZeneca spokeswoman told the WSJ the company was “disappointed.”

Buh-Bye: Some $260 million worth of expired swine flu vaccine is destined for the trash heap, the Associated Press reports. Faced with an unpredictable pandemic, the federal government ordered for public use about 160 million doses of the vaccine against H1N1, which never developed into the threat public-health officials had feared. It’s common to end up with excess stocks of flu vaccine, but this surplus — which is likely to grow — is probably record-setting, the AP says.